Skip to main content

star trek - Is there anything more to the way others mistreat Spock?


I have only watched up to Season 1, Episode 23 "A Taste of Armageddon", so my knowledge on the show is limited.


Let me begin by sourcing this article, entitled Star Trek: A Phenomenon and Social Statement on the 1960s:




Racism and Improving Race Relations


Star Trek does have a strong vein of racism running through it, but this racism is not directed towards the minority regulars (that would have caused major problems), Instead, this racism was directed towards Mr. Spock (portrayed by Leonard Nimoy), the half-Human half-Vulcan first officer and science officer of the Enterprise. Spock is the only one of his people aboard the Enterprise. His pointed ears, green blood, and devotion to pure logic set him apart from the rest of the crew. As a Vulcan, a fictional race of beings, scathing comments regarding his ethniticity (and especially his pointed ears) could have been made with virtual impunity while similar comments directed toward recognized minority groups would have been greatly frowned upon. The relationship between Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy makes this point clear. During practically every episode, McCoy badgers Spock about everything from his pointed ears to his green blood.



There are quite a number of instances in which Kirk and McCoy comment on Spock's logical nature, ethnicity (pointed ears, blood) and lack of emotion. While it is understandable that the men have ideological differences (McCoy seems to be at odd with both Kirk and Spock at times), McCoy makes it a point to make the insults personal. Similarly, Kirk makes mean-spirited remarks towards Spock frequently, although it is ambiguous whether or not these playful remarks are meant to be derisive.


I can't tell what the purpose of it is other than to repeatedly allude the audience to Spock's character, yet they seem to exaggerate the offensive nature just a tad to the point where it seems racist. The show does acknowledge it a couple of times. i.e., Kirk's clever "half-breed" memory, one of the crew members not liking Spock after they discover what the Romanulans look like, and Spock saying "I do not see why you find it necessary to insult me".


On one hand:




  • Spock does not react to these comments with outrage. He's an emotionless being driven by logic. This could also be the show's cue that the remark is not to be taken seriously.





  • The crew members are close friends. Friends tease each other.




  • Kirk is just being playful and it is his way of "humanizing" Spock. McCoy simply has ideological differences and likes to show it.




The other hand:





  • Spock's lack of response to the insults make it rather one-sided. The audience doesn't feel any "closure", just uncomfortableness, as the insults are not confronted with an equal response.




  • McCoy seems to badger Spock like the article says. Maybe this is just a part of his character, but as I said before, McCoy seems to like to make it a point to make it a personal insult.




Is there anything more to it or am I just a sensitive viewer?




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more